Bella

"Bella, what are you thinking? That kid is a mess. I can't get any kind of real reading on him because of the music constantly playing in his head. It's weird, almost like a defense mechanism." Edward looked over at me in the passenger's seat.

"I feel drawn to him, Edward. He reminds me of when I was human. He doesn't seem to fit in anywhere and there's just something about him. Don't tell me you didn't feel it."

"Bella's right, Edward. There is something about him." Alice added her voice to the conversation.

I had wondered why Alice decided to come home in our car today instead of with Jasper on his motorcycle. It seemed she was here to take my side. I resisted the temptation to pump my fist in the air. With Alice on my side I could almost smell victory. "What have you seen, Alice?" I questioned.

"That isn't enough, Alice, and you know it." Edward had gleaned whatever evidence Alice had seen right from her head. I hated these conversations where I had no idea what Edward and Alice were even arguing about.

"Maybe not enough for you." Alice quipped

"Hello..." I waved my hands in front of Alice's face. "Non-mind reading vampire here. Would you please tell me what you saw?"

"Sorry, Bella." Alice glanced at Edward, who's look was dark. "I don't think I should tell you. I don't think Jasper would be too pleased if Edward did to me what he just started contemplating."

"Edward!" I was exasperated.

He didn't even look away from the road this time. "The things Alice saw can't be helped, Bella. We can't interfere."

"Grrr...I don't even know what you're talking about, Edward. You are so frustrating sometimes!"

"You can't turn every human that you like into one of us, Bella. You know that."

"I'm not asking to, Edward. I just want to be friends with him. There's no rule that says I can't make friends with a human."

"Daddy..." Reneesme had looked like she was studiously ignoring our conversation from the backseat but now she turned the full force of her eyes on Edward. "I think we should be friends with him too."

"You're outnumbered, Edward." Alice grinned hugely from beside Reneesme in the backseat.

"And hen-pecked." He muttered under his breath.

I snorted. Reneesme had Edward wrapped around her little finger. He hardly ever denied her anything. "That's settled. We're making friends with Matthew", I enthused.

"Like you hadn't already made friends with him, Bella", Edward sighed, "I've heard people in your classes thinking about the fact that you've been paying so much attention to him lately. How far are you going to take this? Does he just sit with us at lunch and talk to us at school? I feel like you're trying for more, like you want to bring him here eventually."

Edward had seen right through me, of course I wanted to bring Matthew here eventually. I fumed inside my head, trying to think of an answer for him. Edward slammed the door of the black BMW that was technically my car. I didn't get the same enjoyment out of driving as the rest of them did so I usually let Edward do the driving. After fifteen or so years I had finally gotten used to this family's super sonic driving.

Emmett was leaning on the tool bench in the garage. "You'd better let that kid sit with us at lunch, Ed. He's the most entertaining human I've met in a long time and Bella is scary when she doesn't get her way, bro."

I smiled, punching Emmett in the arm. He mock-scowled at me, rubbing his arm. It annoyed him that I could still beat him in an arm wrestle. Jasper and Rosalie were also both waiting in the garage. Rosalie's eyes said she agreed with Edward but she wasn't going to voice her opinion when it was a loosing battle. Besides, she hated agreeing with Edward. Alice had gone to stand by Jasper, the two of them having a silent conversation with their eyes.

"I like him." Jasper finally spoke, which was enough of an answer for me.

"Yay!" I jumped up to kiss Jasper on the cheek, which made him smile.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hope this is a good decision, since no one is going to listen to me. I guess I would like to figure out what makes that boy tick and he's just spacey enough to be oblivious to most of our eccentricities. You know, I don't think he thought once about the fact they we weren't eating at lunch."

"That's space boy for you."

"Though it was hard to tell over the song he was playing in his head. I'll give him one thing, he has good taste in music." Which was something coming from Edward.

"He was really playing it all through lunch?" I inquired. I still didn't quite understand this internal radio thing Edward had described to me.

"After his nervous breakdown, he was playing some really over the top piano piece at that point. When he calmed down he was playing the same song he had been playing most of the day. It sounded just like listening to it on a loop. Matthew's mind is strange. I've never come up against another human mind like it. It's like he has the radio on constantly."

"I've been watching him play piano almost everyday. I know I've told you already but I think even you would be amazed at his talent, Edward. He plays everything from his head since he can't read music. I think maybe he uses music as an escape from other things. I can't get him to talk about his past and he doesn't seem to recognize the cues I give him."

"Bella, he's never had friends before. I took that thought straight from his head. He knows he's a little odd. He can't figure out why you're talking to him, let alone keep track of your conversations. Give him some time to get comfortable with you."

"Hey." Jacob came out to the garage, putting his arm around Reneesme. "Why are you having a conference in the garage?"

"Bella's picking up strays", Emmett put in.

"Bella is convincing us to make friends with a boy at school", Edward explained further, since Emmett's explanation had made very little sense.

"You're tired of Ed already, Bells?" Jacob cracked a smile.

I rolled my eyes. "I just want to make friends with this kid, Jake. He's really interesting."

"He is." Reneesme spoke. "I really want to hear him play the piano. Do you think we can get him to come here and play?"

"Well, I can try asking him. The worst thing he can do is say no, but my guess is if I describe Edward's piano to him, he'll want to play it, given the opportunity. I don't think he's ever gotten to play on anything so nice before."

I had already made up my mind, I was going to ask him over tomorrow.